The Centre for Countering Disinformation has debunked yet another fake story spread by Russian propaganda about 1.7 million Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers allegedly killed or missing in action in the war against Russia.
The Centre notes that Kremlin-controlled propaganda resources are spreading claims that Russian hackers have broken into the database of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and obtained information about ‘1.7 million Ukrainian soldiers killed and missing’ during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
‘In fact, this is completely absurd fake news, since Ukraine has never had a regular army of 1.7 million people during its years of independence. As of January 2025, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian army numbered 880,000 people,’ the CCD said in a statement.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reported that Russian military losses are three times higher than Ukrainian losses.
According to the General Staff, as of 20 August 2025, the Russian army had lost 1,072,700 people killed and wounded, which negates the fabricated figures of Russian propagandists regarding Ukraine's losses.
The Russians are spreading fake news about the losses of the Ukrainian army in order to demoralise Ukrainians, convince the world of the ‘exhaustion and inefficiency of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’ and weaken its international support," the CCD adds.